Little Southerner
- This article is about the miniature railway. For the supper club, see Little Southerner Supper Club.
The "Little Southerner" was a miniature train in use at Kiddieland amusement park at the Alabama State Fairgrounds from its opening on Uune 5, 1948 until the early 1980s.
The train was a replica of "The Southerner", a Southern Railways streamliner which stopped in Birmingham on its route between New Orleans, Louisiana and New York, New York. The equipment was the "Century Flyer" model manufactured by National Amusement Devices of Dayton, Ohio. The train was dressed out at Southern Railways' Birmingham shops, and railroad president Ernest Norris joined other executives on opening day to dedicate the miniature train.
The Little Southerner operated on a half-mile route along the back of the park, with a tunnel along the way. It could carry 72 passengers on each trip, and was boarded from a long, sheltered platform with a neon entrance sign.
References
- "Boy, Oh, Boy! Kiddieland Open! It's Fun, It's Thrillin', It's Super!" (May 1948) Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound
- Walling, Keith (July 31, 1948) "Small Fry Are Big Shots" Billboard
External links
- Kiddieland feature on Birmingham Rewound